dv616

Go it mine in today. I plan on pairing one with an Aldebaran 31 Mgl (4.76 oz) and one with a Lew’s Custom Lite SLP (4.9 oz reel). Very limited testing so far, but I like the initial bend/feel.

I thought those were not best for braid, maybe just louder? I have always just stuck with ceramic rings and have not experimented with the rings or stainless ring designs.

Mine should arrive today, but a signature in person is required. Ugh. Hard to plan around that.

I just build as a hobby and occasional Christmas gift type thing. I have built up a fair amount of blanks from NFC that I want to build up. The idea is more so when I have a chance to do some building (works slows down a bit in the winter, so that tends to be when I get more free time to try to quickly build a couple here and there), it is not always "Shoot, I need three more of this size or I thought I had a that tip size, etc." I have built more spinning rods lately but need to stock up for some casting rod builds next. Even in those running, the Ti stuff adds up fast! For spinning rods, I am all braid to leader, so I would probably not do the Minima guides for that reason. For bait cast, I tend to be straight fluoro except for a slop rod.

For spinning rods, I have settled on the Microwave guides system. For me, it seems to offer a guide set that works well for multiple reels sizes, allows me to stock one guide set for most of my builds, etc. The only downside is the Ti color guides are just coated stainless, not real Titanium frames. But, cost of spinning Titanium frames are quite high for the larger guide sizes so not sure I would do that on my spinning rods anyway. If they sold the first two guides individually I might run Ti runners. It makes me feel more comfortable if I want to swap reels around too since the KR concept seems more specific to each individual reel. I would like to have casting guides on hand with a similar theory. I am thinking that using the Fuji RV6 as the first guide (probably the slim SiC with Ti frames) and then using either Alconite or Ti Sic depending on the rod for the rest. Probably doing the black finish so everything will match. I have settled on size 5 for runners on most of my bass builds (used 4 on my last 2 BFS rods, but probably the only time I will go smaller). For bass rods, would this work well for someone who uses mostly 10-15 fluorocarbon on bait casters? I do have a couple swimbait and heavier bass rods that I plan to build as well, but from what I have read, these guides are also fine with heavier stuff as well. I do the simple spiral, so thinking the RV6 for butt guide, a size 5 runner for the bumper (lower profile) then 3 KB5's, and runners to the tip. Am I over simplifying guide selection? I tend to over complicate things related to fishing but if this is an area I can reasonably streamline components, it would be nice. I would love to have a decent number of guides and tops on hand to cover future builds without having to stock a wide variety of sizes and styles.

The liberty ds760 is 7’6”, the p700 is 7’.

I built a Liberty DS760 into a “BFS” rod. It is higher powered than my P700 X-ray (which comes out of the drying box today). For the DS760, I used a Daiwa Tatula Type R with a ray’s longcast spool. It is between a BFS and traditional spool in depth. I was getting around 100’ casts with a 1/10 jig head and 2.8-3” swimbait. FWIW, total weight of the it head and bait is 1/4 oz. For the P700, I do not have a reel for that one yet, so may not get to test it until spring (lakes getting close to freezing).

I did finish over the label. It seems durable but probably not hold up over time.

For those who read In-fisherman magazine, I built the smallmouth finesse rod. The black is only available as a 7-3, not the 7-6 length offering you can buy as a finished rod. I did a split Tennessee grip and microwave guides. Blank: 1.355 oz. Finished weight: 2.635 The label was printed on the new Epson printer that can do 320dpi but is around $80. Black on matte silver tape.

I have the tip, it broke in two places though. I think the guides got caught in the woven rod sleeve or it caught when sliding the rod sleeve into the rod box and folded the tip over. I have a couple blanks I do not think I will build that I could sacrifice for scrap, a Bushido is probably the best option, I do not have any pure glass blanks around and do not want to cut up any of my hybrid ones. I really should try the repair method some day. I just have a hard time believing it works that well. My Shakari PSB 702 is a better candidate for the repair I think though since that break was more like a 12” or so down the rod blank.

The tip of my SCV 70MLF broke off and is now missing the last 4” . This one is a factory rod, not a custom, so I got a warranty replacement. The only downside is I do not like the Fuji TVS reel seat on the new version. I may just sell it and use the money towards some of my next builds. Might keep it too, we will see but leave the tags on for now. I do not feel confident in stripping off all the guides to replace a handle and getting a clean build out of it or not damaging the blank in the process. I know my limitations. The only option I might be able to do is cut off the reel seat and fit an extension with a new reel seat on from the butt end. For the broken rod, what do you think a good use for the shortened 70MLF would be? I am thinking it might be a good jerkbait/top water rod. Any good ideas? At the very least, I will strip it for the guides.

If you have stop injection fat impact type mold, just pour the plastisol in from a cup and you will get a swimbait that is lacking the paddle tail.

So, I have this blank now. The top half is quite limber but then it does transition to more power in the bottom half than I expected. I will need to compare it side by side to my SJ640 IMX (extended to 6') but I want to say the bottom half is more powerful. Going from memory here. Blanks are at my work shop. Finished rods are at home or in my boat. If I reorganize my work shop, I would like to add a chart to do comparisons between blanks by hanging weights on them, but this is a hobby, not a business, for me. So, space priority is given to me real job.

Interesting light braid to heavy leader combo. Up here in MI, my usually finesse setups are 8-10 lb braid to a 6 lb leader. I do not think the finesse lures I fish would work well on heavy FG leader. What kind of lures are you using? I am assuming you are trying to maximize abrasion resistance with that leader choice.

I will need to order up a size 20 NPS next time I order. I am on the same page with the Aero seat being ugly but doing it unlocking does help the looks. So many options!

Next time I place an order, i will need to add an NPS 20 to try. I wish Cabelas still carried some supplies. It is a pain that everything is online orders.

The gray arbors seem to be heavier than the white ones, but I am sure it is not consistent between brands. Size is not exact, but about the same length in 18mm weights are .365 vs. .185 oz for gray vs. white. White was the CFX, gray is actually PacBay I believe, not Fuji. I do usually use pieces of arbors, not the full size. The last spinning rods I built I used two 1” arbors for the NPS reel seat. I always trim the threads flush so there are no exposed threads at all when the reel is installed. I use the size 18 in the NPS with arbors. The size 18 gives me the diameter I need for my hand. Size 20 might be better but did not try that yet. I wanted to show the weight differences between the two reel seats since the size 18 NPS is my typically set up for spinning. Those hybrid seats are an interesting idea. I have had some thoughts about shaping the carbon grips in a way to keep at least one ring from sliding.

I like larger diameter spinning reel seats since it help with an achy tendon that goes from the base of the thumb toward the wrist when gripping things like a fishing rod, paint brush, etc. It helps to have the thumb oriented on the top of the rod pointing forward as well. I like the Fuji NPS 18 mm reel seat (down locking orientation) and the Pac Bay GBS reel seat too, but it adds a bit of weight to the rod. So, I am thinking of trying this on a upcoming build, but don't want to use it on an expensive blank until I know I will like it. Currently, this one is on the gray Fuji arbors, but if I switch to poly urethane arbors, it should lower the weight a bit more to around 0.745 oz. instead of current 0.925 oz. Is there a downside to this kind of seat? I would expect to need to wrap the rings with tape to hold in place but I plan on getting a snug fit by dialing in the diameter before the final coat of finish on the handle. I may even epoxy one ring in place. I remember reading that Rich Forhan puts a couple poker chips in the middle of a reel seat to avoid compression over time. You you think that would be needed? My main goal is to get a comfortable reel seat that does not aggravate that tendon. Let me know your thoughts.

Based on the graph, the readings are very close at 2, 4, and 6 oz. But any 8 oz and above the 76mlxf is more powerful. But, now that I have the blank in hand (only flexed it against the floor a few times so far) the tip does feel lighter than the 70MLF. It seems to have a faster shut off than the shorter St. Croix MLXF’s I have handled at the stores before. It is a unique blank for sure. I have not encountered this blank on a store rack (at least not in a long time so I can remember the properties).

I realize the H7600 is more powerful than the St. Croix MLF and MLXF rods. Looking to use it casting a little heavier and larger stuff than what I through on those rods. I am thinking things like 3.8” Keitechs. Maybe launching 4” Senkos. One reason I like using the Microwaves is in case I swap reels around. Also, as I build rods and switch things up, I would like to be able to give rods away to relatives and friends that fish, so the Microwaves should be more flexible for whatever reel they want to throw on them. I have a St. Croix (factory) Legend Tournament 8-0 ML rod that has a the KR concept guides on it and, in my opinion, it casts poorly compared to my other St. Croix ML rods. So, it kind of left a bad impression on my that it is too specific of a guide set up. I should redo that one and see if I can make it better with different guides.

When do you guys upsize to the spinning guide set with the 25 mm butt guide? I am going to build a NFC HS7600 and just need to put the guides on it. I was going to go with the regular Microwave set, but since I want this to be a long casting rod, I might upsize the reel a bit. I usually use a 2500 size reel, but might put a 3000 on this one. It will get braid and fluoro leader. Probably 10-14 lb. braid to a 8 or 10 lb leader. Guessing there will be no real gain to the larger guide set. My goal is to have this rod cast as far as possible with light lures. Same for an upcoming SCV 76mlxf rod.

I LOVE the St. Croix 70MLF rods. This thread reminded me that I have wanted to try the 76MLXF too. For those that have both, is there a big difference? Looking at the Tackle Tour reviews of each and the chart, they look VERY similar in how the tip loads.

He is wrong on larger fish not being better reproduction as well. Larger fish have more and larger eggs that are more likely to hatch as well. Plus a lot of other factors as that make it important to protect larger fish.

I would like to read the study that says 13-17" smallmouth are the best size for reproduction. The runs contrary to everything I have read when in school for fisheries biology and since then. It very well could be something I missed, so I would appreciate being more informed. What I have read is that larger fish have more eggs and healthier eggs with higher success rates.

I had the DS721 X-ray show up with an SJ736 label once. I had both blanks in the same order, but that is a bit of a discrepancy between the two blanks.